Politics - Poll

[Texas1911]

A number of people asked that we reinstate the politics section. I'd like to start a discussion about what you guys want and ideas on how we can manage the section. There's been a few reasons why we removed it in the past:

1) People form vigilante groups and attack anyone outside of their views.
2) People with thin skin lose it when someone disagrees with them.
3) People cannot argue their point respectfully, they often resort to name calling and mockery.

 

[Younggun]

I did enjoy reading through and learning about different candidates but I avoid posting. Maybe there is some way to ban offenders from posting in that specific area.

 

[Texas1911]

Voting is anonymous.

 

[matefrio]

If there was a form for this I think it should be members only view and not indexed as it'd distract from the sights image.

 

[orbitup]

Is it possible to ban people from just one section? That would keep the troublemakers out.

 

[country_boy]

Is it possible to ban people from just one section? That would keep the troublemakers out.

Sounds good to me.

 

[Glockster69]

Yes to politics
Several good ideas on control above, hope some or all can work

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

Is it possible to ban people from just one section? That would keep the troublemakers out.

Yeah, there's a anesthesia to selectively ban people from specific forums. On my forum, we had a prescreening page a user had to agree to for the first time viewing. Members also had to have a set amount of posts. Lynch mobs were dropped from the section, similar in any ban severity setup(hours, days, permanent, etc). It's always going to be a sensitive subject, many of the time including the President, mainly because a lot of politics around the time revolved around their stance. People weren't allowed to just jump in and trash the president/commander in chief, but all arguements had to be backed with a reason or background for statement. Blatant slander wasn't allowed. We're all adults here, or should be. Those that want to act like kids can be shown the door.

 

[Domineaux]

Civil discussions should absolutely be allowed. Control methods should be implemented where possible to keep it high quality and civil.
Many moderators with oversight will certainly help.
I like the mentioned ideas of prescreening page, post count restrictions and non indexed.

One thing particular I think is important is oversight on moderation. I was recently banned from a forum my wife got me into to debate with a very liberal crowd.
They banned me for hate speech because I was making very valid points that they could not refute and when I asked the top moderator, they had no ability to see what supposed "hate speech" I posted but of course sided with their moderator who banned me.

 

[firefree]

If you have to set yourself up as a censor, eventually your view will be the only one allowed. I've been on sights where you must agree with the owner or leave. I'm gone from them. Matter of fact that sort of crap had me off all forums for a couple of years. I'm just not a good suck up.

 

[majormadmax]

There are enough other forums out there for political discussion, no need to pollute this one when it is suppose to be focused on firearms and shooting in Texas.

The politics section has had its fair share of issues in the past, and you can bet that if it's reopened it will have many more in the future.

And there is no way it can be objectively moderated. Sorry, but any attempt to quell one person's opinion is going to be censorship; no matter how many people it pisses off.

It's one topic that needs to be kept separated from all the rest. If someone wants to start TexasPoliticsTalk.com then feel free to do so, but leave this forum focused on what's important!

Cheers! M2

 

[majormadmax]

There's been a few reasons why we removed it in the past:

1) People form vigilante groups and attack anyone outside of their views.
2) People with thin skin lose it when someone disagrees with them.
3) People cannot argue their point respectfully, they often resort to name calling and mockery.

Which are three really good reasons why it should remain gone.

 

[scgstuff]

I would welcome it back. I am a member on many forums and the political views expressed are very one sided and align with the board owners' views. This board had a much wider array of opinions and allowed views from every person. I agree some people would get twisted around a belief they had trouble defending and would lash out and resort to name calling, but of watched I think that could be moderated and/or eliminated.

 

[Domineaux]

but any attempt to quell one person's opinion is going to be censorship

Properly moderated it would not be about quelling anyone's opinion, just stopping any non-civil discussion.
Anyone who remains civil and isn't violating the rules should be welcome to express their opinion and back it with facts.

 

[ChunkyMonkey]

How can we truely discuss guns and rights without discussing politics?

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

I think that it may work if you did it as a private part of the forum, like the Women's section. Then you can kick people out of that section, if needed, and the back and forth doesn't get out on the search engines.

It would be even better if there was a minimum post count required, and you administered a basic civics test to gain access

 

[Dcav]

1) People form vigilante groups and attack anyone outside of their views.
2) People with thin skin lose it when someone disagrees with them.
3) People cannot argue their point respectfully, they often resort to name calling and mockery.

I vote no, we dont need it here IMO. Causes too many problems and confrontations even threats of violence.

 

[just jk]

make it a separate forum - DONT moderate it - and put a warning on the folder that people can do/say what they want - and use the ignore feature as necessary

let it be the users headache and not the moderators......it's really easy

 

[just jk]

Civil discussions should absolutely be allowed. Control methods should be implemented where possible to keep it high quality and civil.
Many moderators with oversight will certainly help.
I like the mentioned ideas of prescreening page, post count restrictions and non indexed.

One thing particular I think is important is oversight on moderation. I was recently banned from a forum my wife got me into to debate with a very liberal crowd.
They banned me for hate speech because I was making very valid points that they could not refute and when I asked the top moderator, they had no ability to see what supposed "hate speech" I posted but of course sided with their moderator who banned me.

from personal experience, 1911 is as fair as they come if you have an issue with a moderator....

 

[macshooter]

A number of people asked that we reinstate the politics section. I'd like to start a discussion about what you guys want and ideas on how we can manage the section. There's been a few reasons why we removed it in the past:

1) People form vigilante groups and attack anyone outside of their views.
2) People with thin skin lose it when someone disagrees with them.
3) People cannot argue their point respectfully, they often resort to name calling and mockery.

I vote yes. As the old saying goes, never talk religion and politics at work or in mixed company. Well I think that holds true for religion, there is no sense in offending other people who don't share your religious beliefs. Nothing good comes of that. It's pointless.

However politics is different. I think that the art of civil debate and political discussion has been lost. It needs to be brought back. People stopped talking politics because it brings out strong feelings and there are too many asshats that just can't handle it, and start being rude, calling names etc. So people just gave up and stop talking about politics altogether. Over time I think people stopped paying attention to politics as well, and stopped thinking politics is important. That has landed us in the mess we are in now, with millions of uninformed people letting bad actors get control of the govt and the country and push us to the brink of disaster.

It's time for people to re-learn how to have a civil discussion, and how to have disagreements without being disagreeable and rude to each other. People need to learn how to support their ideas, and HAVE TO UNDERSTAND and be able to articulate their ideas and opinions in a public discussion. I think that would go a long way to curbing the ignorance and group-think that has taken over the political landscape today. People don't think for themselves anymore. They go along with whatever their friends are doing, say what ever their friends say, and if you disagree you get called names, and ejected from the herd. That kind of stupidity it ruining the country. It's time for people to start talking to each other about the nature of the society we want to live in (politics), before all of our freedoms disappear in a sea of stupidity and group-think.

Those who can't handle a civil discussion without being rude, attacking others and calling names because they are immature, or have not thought out their own opinions enough to be able support them respectfully in a civil debate (and can't handle the embarrassment they bring upon themselves as a result) should be banned from the forum.

That will require a lot of time and effort, and cool headed objectivity from the mods. In short, it's going to be a huge pain in the ass, and the same things are going to be said over and over... It would be a lot easier just to keep it shut down I'm sure.

But if people don't learn how to think for themselves, and how to have a civil discussion or political debate without being offensive and rude, and if people don't begin to recognize how critically important politics is to the continued existence of a free society, then we are doomed. We will go down the road to tyranny behind a horde of stupid people who never learned to think for themselves, and gave up their freedoms to be part of a herd where they feel safe around people who all do and say the same things (or else!).

Debate forces you to think for yourself and support what you say, or be embarrassed for being a moron who can't or won't. It also forces you to use self control and not be rude to others with differing points of view. That's healthy for society. People need to learn how to do that, and stop acting like babies. We are becoming a nation of babies the way things are now.